Hot Scot Marc Warren shares lead going into third day at DP World Tour Championship

WARREN faces a third round showdown alongside Rory McIlroy after both finished joint-top on 11-under par with Luke Donald.

MARC WARREN insists he’ll need to draw on the swagger and belief of Luke Donald if he’s to seal victory at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai this weekend.

The Scot faces a third round showdown in the $8m event alongside world No.1 Rory McIlroy after both finished joint-top on 11-under par with world No.2 Donald.

Warren, ranked a lowly 189th in the world, stood tall to outscore Donald by a stroke with a 67 while McIlroy then joined the duo with a 67.

The Scot played the second round in the company of Donald and his team mate from the 2001 winning GB&I Walker Cup side.

And after witnessing first-hand Donald’s calm approach to the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, Warren is confident he can spoil both he and McIlroy’s season-ending victory party.

He said: “It will now be a second day running I’ll have played in the last group so it’s good to be in this position and to have performed well.

“But it does wonders for the confidence playing alongside Luke who is now No.2 in the world and hopefully I take that into day three against Rory.

“It’s that calmness of mind and ‘knows what he’s doing’ manner of Luke’s that I notice when I play alongside him that I’ll need to draw on.

“It’s a high-quality field with Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen only one behind and then there’s Charl Schwartzel and Richie Ramsay on nine under.

“I know playing alongside Rory is going to be different but then it should also be good fun.”

Warren confirmed his wife, Laura is expecting on March 27 and admits it could have an impact on his golf.

He said: “I’m looking forward to becoming a father and it’s funny because it’s something Luke said changed his outlook on golf.

“It will certainly give you a different perspective in life, and it has already because if I play a bad shot or whatever, I realise there are more important things in life.

“But after how my golf has been the last few years, I appreciate the situation that I’m now in.”

McIlroy battled the after effects of too much sun on day one but still shone brightly in managing six birdies as he moved closer to a fifth victory this season.

He said: “I guess it’s my Irish skin as I’m just not used to this sort of sun, and that’s my excuse.

“I’ll take a couple of pain-killers tonight and I should be okay in the morning but then with the anti-doping and all that, I can’t really take too much.”

Richie Ramsay’s drive towards a first-ever Masters appearance remains on track with the current world No. 56th outscoring playing partner and world No.30 Martin Kaymer by two shots in a score of 68 for a nine under par total.

Ramsay birdied his opening two holes with putts of 14 feet and chipping from the back of the green to 12 feet at the second.

The Omega European Masters champ then two-putted from 45-feet at both the 14th and 15th holes for birdie before landing his 7-iron third shot at the last to 12 to the left of the flag and knocking that in for birdie.

Scott Jamieson birdied the last in a 69 to be at seven under par and with Stephen Gallacher (70) a stroke further back.